Awards:Bertha G. Harrison Award for Figurative Sculpture, $125: Gwen Harrison Lockhart, active Art League member and former President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Member of Art League Board of Directors, established this award in memory of her mother, Bertha G. Harrison. The award recognizes her mother as an example of every parent who has supported their child’s artistic interests and encouraged them to develop those artistic interests.Carol Zakaski Memorial Award for Best in Show, $200: Created in 2010 by her family, friends and colleagues to honor the memory of their friend. Carol Zakaski was a watercolor artist who studied for many years with Gwen Bragg at The Art League.

Juror's dialogue with Erica Fortwengler

Innovation, creativity, and strong technical skill were the elements Marlene Harrison was looking for as she selected the work for the December 2013 All-Media Exhibit. With nearly 600 strong works submitted for her review, Harrison, the Director of Exhibitions for International Arts & Artists in Washington, DC, commented that her job was not an easy one.

Technical ability coupled with “something different” was the winning combination for Harrison. She was especially drawn to works with an interesting vantage point or unique perspective, strong color, or sense of mood.

Vantage point and perspective were especially important when it came to evaluating photography. With a medium that has become such a prevalent part of everyday life, Harrison found herself really wanting to see something extraordinary and different in this genre.

In the ever evolving field of digital and computer rendered artwork, Harrison commented that it was challenging to judge the work for two reasons: for one, there was often little information about how the work was created, and two, it was difficult to judge a digital piece against a traditional media piece, because the processes and skill sets are so different.

When it came down to finalizing the exhibit, presentation played a role in the selection process. Works that were technically strong, yet matted or framed poorly, were eliminated.

The Carol Zakaski Award for Best in Show was awarded to Gail Vogels for Christmas 1960. Harrison was drawn to this piece because of the similarities to work by Lucian Freud, one of her favorite artists. Harrison loved the nostalgic, vintage feel of the painting, and how the artist had used the simple subject to capture a bygone era. She noted the artist’s technical ability, and applauded her for breaking the rules and blurring the image to truly help capture the spirit and mood of the piece.

Tatyana Schremko’s Sweet Vidalia was awarded the Bertha G. Harrison Award for sculpture. Harrison appreciated the works clean lines and smooth surfaces, which evoked an elongated human form with simplicity and beauty. She was impressed by how the artist turned the wood, a material used for its strength, into a delicate and diminutive form.

Harrison noted that all of the works she awarded Honorable Mentions to are technically strong, presented well, and have interesting and different perspectives. The works with strong color are energizing, the darker pieces create a sense of mood, several pieces showcase a different vantage point, and others are quite innovative. She hopes that the exhibit will evoke a sense of emotion, nostalgia, personal connection, memory, or experience among the viewers who come through the gallery this month.

About the juror: Marlene Rothacker Harrison has more than 20 years of experience in the museum field. She joined International Arts & Artists in 2002 as Senior Exhibitions Manager after working as a Project Administrator at The Field Museum, Chicago, and as an Exhibitor Relations Coordinator at the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). She assumed the Director of Exhibitions position at IA&A after successfully managing more than 20 exhibition tours, including ones originating from France, Korea, and Vietnam, and projects on Frank Lloyd Wright and Man Ray, among others. She is an active member of ArtTable, a national organization for women leaders in the visual arts, and is a former chair of the Program Committee for ArtTable's Washington, DC chapter.